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Feds approve $545M for Virginia broadband expansion

SUMMARY:

  • OKs Virginia’s expansion funding request of $545 million
  • Elon Musk blasted state’s proposal, saying it was unfair to his satellite-based internet business
  • State has about 133,000 unserved addresses to connect
  • About $430 million in private investment will match federal money

The federal government has approved Virginia’s request for $545 million in broadband funding, money that will be used to connect 133,000 statewide addresses without reliable .

Part of an initiative launched under former President Joe Biden, the ‘s National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) announced Tuesday that it has given final approval to the state’s Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) proposal, along with plans from 17 other states.

According to ‘s office, NTIA’s approval authorizes Virginia to distribute more than $545 million in BEAD funding to 23 internet service providers to build broadband infrastructure for the remaining 133,000 unserved homes, businesses and other facilities. The ISPs will leverage nearly $430 million in private capital to complete the buildout.

“With the BEAD program, we are not just building infrastructure, we are building opportunity in Virginia as we close the digital divide,” said Tamarah Holmes, director of the state’s Office of Broadband in the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, which will administer BEAD. “This milestone brings us closer to a commonwealth where reliable broadband is no longer a privilege, but a standard for all.”

Under President ‘s administration, Virginia’s broadband funding has been far from certain.

Earlier this year, the White House led a push toward satellite-based internet and away from broadband fiber, which raised concerns among some state Democratic officials who argued that fiber is more reliable than satellite, which requires clear skies for connection and satellite replacements every few years.

Satellite advocates, like billionaire satellite orbit investors Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, cite lower costs to their technology compared to laying broadband fibers to each structure, especially in remote areas. In August, Musk panned Virginia’s broadband proposal as “a massive waste of federal taxpayer money” and said the state had unfairly rejected a proposal from Starlink, his aerospace company SpaceX’s satellite-based internet service.

, a Democrat who made his multimillion-dollar fortune by investing in wireless service operator Nextel, criticized Trump’s focus on satellites, saying it mainly would benefit Musk financially.

Exacerbating the uncertainty, the Trump administration rescinded several digital equity grants, and BEAD guidelines were rewritten, forcing localities and providers to redo their proposals.

Holmes said this summer that the DHCD has always been tech-neutral when selecting projects to fund through the (VATI), the statewide internet expansion program formed in 2017.

Over the past eight years, the state and federal governments provided $935 million and received $1.2 billion in matching funds from local governments and ISPs to extend internet access to more than 388,000 addresses in 80 Virginia cities and counties.

“Broadband access is essential for effective participation in the modern economy and society,” DHCD Director Maggie Beal said in a statement Tuesday. “Virginia’s BEAD final proposal is the last piece of the puzzle for bringing high-speed, reliable broadband access to every Virginian.”

Youngkin also praised the decision Tuesday, noting that when he took office in 2022, more than 430,000 Virginians lacked access to broadband infrastructure. Since then, Virginia has made significant progress in connecting homes.

“Since the very beginning of our administration, connecting every Virginia home and business to reliable, high-speed internet has been a top priority,” Youngkin said in a statement. “This approval clears the way for us to keep this promise, with a funded broadband project for every unserved home and business in the commonwealth. Virginia continues to be a national leader in broadband expansion and will be one of the first states in the nation to reach universal broadband access.”

Warner also lauded the federal decision, saying in a statement, “Expanding broadband access has been a top priority of mine since my time as governor, and I’m proud that Virginia continues to remain a national leader in this effort. When I wrote the broadband sections of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the goal was simple: Give states the resources to finally finish the job.”

Shutdown delays full October jobs report, Labor Dept. says

Summary

  • won’t release a full October due to the 43-day shutdown.
  • Only October hiring numbers will be released, bundled with November data on Dec. 16.
  • September jobs report, delayed by the shutdown, will receive extra scrutiny.
  • Fed officials face uncertainty on rate cuts without key labor data.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Labor Department said Wednesday that it will not be releasing a full jobs report for October because the 43-day shutdown meant it couldn’t calculate the and some other key numbers.

Instead, it will release some of the October jobs data — most importantly the number of jobs that employers created last month — along with the full November jobs report, now due a couple of weeks late on Dec. 16.

The department’s “employment situation” report usually comes out the first Friday of the month. But the disrupted data collection and delayed the release of the reports. For example, the September jobs report, now coming out Thursday, was originally due Oct. 3.

The monthly jobs report consists of two parts: a survey of households that is used to determine the unemployment rate, among other things; and the “establishment” survey of companies, nonprofits and government agencies that is used to track job creation, wages and other measurements of labor market health.

The Labor Department said Wednesday that the household survey for October could not be conducted because of the shutdown and could not be done retroactively. But it was able to collect the hiring numbers from employers, and those will come out with the full November report.

Wednesday’s announcement means the September jobs numbers will likely get extra scrutiny Thursday. They are the last full measurement of hiring and unemployment that policymakers will see before they meet Dec. 9-10.

The Fed is sharply split o ver whether to reduce its key interest rate for a third time this year next month. Those divisions could be largely resolved by fresh if it showed a sharp deterioration in the job market, economists say, because that would likely encourage more officials to support a rate cut. But the absence of data could embolden those policymakers who want to wait for more evidence about where the economy is headed before reducing rates again.

At its last meeting in late October many Fed officials said the central bank should proceed with caution, given the “reduced availability of key economic data.”

The jobs numbers have lately been contentious. After the July jobs report proved disappointing, President abruptly fired the official responsible for collecting the data, Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner Erika McEntarfer.

McEntarfer herself was quick to say there was nothing suspicious about Wednesday’s announcement. “No conspiracy here, folks,” she posted on the site Bluesky. “ was entirely shutdown for six weeks. Payroll data from firms can be retroactively collected for October. The household survey cannot be conducted retrospectively. This is just a straightforward consequence of having all field staff furloughed for over a month.”

Virginia Senate Democrat files right-to-work repeal bill

SUMMARY:

  • A Democratic state senator filed a bill to repeal Virginia’s right-to-work law for 2026 General Assembly regular session
  • Gov.-elect , a moderate Democrat, says she opposes full repeal, setting up an intraparty conflict
  • Business groups warn that repealing limits on unions will negatively impact Virginia’s business-friendly reputation

Democratic state Sen. Jennifer Carroll Foy has filed legislation to repeal Virginia’s right-to-work law, potentially sparking an intraparty conflict with .

During her gubernatorial campaign, moderate Democrat Spanberger said multiple times that she did not support repealing Virginia’s right-to-work law but would consider making reforms to it.

Supporters of the right-to-work law say Virginia would lose its national reputation as a business-friendly state and would suffer financial losses if it repeals the law.

“I know there are those who think you can be pro-business or pro-worker, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some people in this room that hold that opinion, but I reject that idea,” Spanberger said in an October speech at a Virginia Chamber conference. “We can do both.”

Carroll Foy, D-Woodbridge, is chief patron of Senate Bill 32, which would repeal parts of the Code of Virginia that prohibit agreements between employers and unions that require membership as a condition of employment or continuation of employment.

“Gov.-elect Spanberger believes the No. 1 job of the governor of Virginia is to strengthen the commonwealth’s economy and attract new jobs,” her transition team’s spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday. “As she made clear on the campaign trail, she does not support repealing the current statute. As she prepares to take office, Gov.-elect Spanberger will be focused on getting things done for Virginia workers, bringing new businesses to Virginia, and making sure parents can afford to live here in Virginia to take advantage of job opportunities.”

State Senate Republicans, who hold 19 of the legislative body’s 40 seats and will no longer have a Republican lieutenant governor casting tiebreaker votes after the Jan. 17, 2026, inauguration of Lt. Gov.-elect Ghazala Hashmi, blasted Carroll Foy’s bill in a statement.

“Democrats looked Virginians in the eye and said they would not touch , and then as soon as prefiling began for the upcoming session, they made it a day one priority,” Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle said. “This is classic bait-and-switch politics. On day one they are already reaching into your paycheck with a scheme that will raise costs, grow government and force hardworking Virginians to fund unions against their will. Senate Republicans will fight every single attempt to gut right to work, and we will stand up to Democrats whose policies will take money out of Virginians’ pockets.”

Carroll Foy tweeted Tuesday evening that she was aware of Spanberger’s stance and filed the bill “to make sure that we engage and move on all areas where we can lower costs for Virginia families and protect the rights and opportunities of Virginia workers. I look forward to working with the governor-elect and my colleagues in the General Assembly to get great things done.”

The bill has been referred to the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee, along with a handful of other pre-filed bills for the upcoming General Assembly 2026 regular session.

Senate Democrats also filed a measure this week that would raise the state’s hourly minimum wage to $15 in 2028.

Sponsored by Senate Finance Chair Louise Lucas, the bill would codify an incremental increase to the state’s minimum wage, raising it from $12.77/hour as of Jan. 1, 2026, to $13.75 on Jan. 1, 2027, and $15 on Jan. 1, 2028. As of Jan. 1, 2029, and annually thereafter, the legislation would require the state’s minimum wage to be adjusted to reflect increases in the consumer price index.

In addition to the minimum wage legislation, Senate Democrats are putting forward bills that would require the Virginia Employment Commission to establish a paid family and medical leave insurance program starting January 2029, and establish a pilot program for employers to make child care contributions for their employees that the state would match.

If passed, the Employee Child Care Assistance Program would be administered by the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation. The bill, carried by Sen. Lashrecse D. Aird, would require the VECF to provide an interim report to the General Assembly by Sept. 1, 2028, and a final report by Sept. 1, 2030.

“Affordability is the issue we hear about more than any other,” Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Mamie E. Locke said in a statement. “Senate Democrats are focused on tackling the costs that strain family budgets and block opportunity. We are prepared with strong legislation that improves economic security and supports working families that strengthens Virginia.”

Legislators included $25 million in a state budget amendment this year to launch a pilot of the child care assistance program, but vetoed the amendment.

“The Employee Child Care Assistance Pilot Program is not expected to have an impact on the [Child Care Subsidy Program] waitlist this biennium because of the timing required to implement the program and the requirements attached to these funds. … This effort is best considered in a bill and at a smaller scale to determine program effectiveness and scalability,” Youngkin said in a statement in May.

For the first time since 2022, Virginia Democrats will control both legislative bodies and hold the governorship and the lieutenant governor and attorney general posts in January 2026.

Democrats increased their 51-seat House of Delegates majority to 64 seats in November’s elections. Although the state Senate’s party makeup is likely to remain the same in 2026, Hashmi’s Henrico-Chesterfield Senate seat must be filled in a special election likely to take place before the GA session starts. However, her district is considered strongly Democratic.

The 60-day session is set to begin Jan. 14, three days before Spanberger’s inauguration.

Trump’s semiconductor tariff plan likely delayed, officials say

Summary

  • U.S. officials privately say semiconductor may be delayed.
  • Trump proposed 100% chip import tariff, exempting U.S. producers.
  • Delay aims to avoid sparking a trade clash with China.
  • Tariffs risk raising for electronics ahead of holidays.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. officials are privately saying that they might not levy long-promised soon, potentially delaying a centerpiece of President ‘s economic agenda.

Officials relayed these messages over the last several days to stakeholders in government and private industry, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter and a third person briefed on the conversations. A fourth person following the matter also said the administration was taking a more cautious approach to avoid provoking China. The discussions have not been previously reported.

Trump aides are taking their time on chip tariffs as they work to avoid a rupture with Beijing over trade issues, which would risk a return to a tit-for-tat trade war and disruption of the flow of critical rare earth minerals, according to two of the people.

Those people cautioned that no decision is final until the administration signs off on it, and also said that triple-digit tariffs could be imposed at any time. The sources spoke anonymously in order to recount private conversations about policy deliberations.

Trump said in August that the United States would impose a tariff of about 100% on of semiconductors but exempted companies that are manufacturing in the U.S. or have committed to do so. Privately, over the last several months, Washington officials had told people that the administration would roll out the tariffs soon. That guidance has now changed as the administration has continued to debate the timing and other details.

A White House official and a official, asked about the discussions, disputed that the administration had adjusted its posture.

“That is not true,” the White House official said, without specifying what was incorrect. “The administration remains committed to reshoring manufacturing that’s critical to our national and economic security.” The Commerce official said, “There is no change in department policy regarding semiconductor 232 tariffs.” Neither one specified how soon tariffs that have been threatened since the early days of the Trump administration would be finalized, nor did they offer any other details.

TRUMP FACES PRESSURE ON CONSUMER PRICES

Any decision by the administration to slow down or narrow the scope of chip tariffs would come at a sensitive time for Trump. The Republican president is facing growing consumer angst over prices heading into the holiday shopping season.

Hiking taxes on imported semiconductors could raise consumer costs on the gadgets they power, from refrigerators to smartphones. Reuters reported in September that the Trump administration was looking at a plan that would also tax foreign electronic devices based on the number of chips in each one.

Trump rolled back tariffs on more than 200 food products last week, but he has also said that his import taxes have made no significant contribution to inflation. The U.S. has delayed recent data on consumer prices, but inflation has been running above the ‘s target since former President Joe Biden held office.

Trump is also trying to maintain a delicate trade truce with China, a top manufacturer of both semiconductors and devices powered by them. Last month, Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea, and reached an agreement to set aside their trade issues, for now.

During those conversations in Korea, U.S. officials nonetheless warned their Chinese counterparts that they could take steps in the coming months that Beijing might find objectionable, according to two people familiar with those conversations. Trump has bet that tariffs can revive domestic factory jobs lost over decades to countries including China.

In April, the Trump administration announced investigations into imports of pharmaceuticals and semiconductors as part of a bid to impose tariffs on them, arguing that extensive reliance on their foreign production poses a national security threat.

 

(Reporting by Laurie Chen in Beijing, Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington and Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Alexandra Alper in Washington; Editing by Chris Sanders and Matthew Lewis)

 

Trump nominates new CFPB director

Summary

  • Trump nominates as director, delaying leadership limits.
  • Move keeps as acting director while agency faces shutdown push.
  • CFPB operations have been largely halted as rules are rolled back.
  • Legal debate intensifies over how Dodd-Frank funds the consumer bureau.

NEW YORK (AP) — President Trump nominated Stuart Levenbach as the next director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, using a legal maneuver to keep his budget director Russell Vought as acting director of the bureau while the Trump administration continues on its plan to shut down the consumer financial protection agency.

Levenbach is currently an associate director inside the Office of Management and Budget, handling issues related to natural resources, energy, science and water issues. Levenbach’s resume shows significant experience dealing with science and natural resources issues, acting as chief of staff of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration during Trump’s first term.

Levenbach’s nomination is not meant to go through to confirmation, an administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters. Under the Vacancies Act, Vought can only act as acting director for 210 days, but now that Trump has nominated someone to the position, that clock has been suspended until the Senate approves or denies Levenbach’s confirmation as director. Vought is Levenbach’s boss.

The CFPB has been nonfunctional much of the year. Many of its employees have been ordered not to work, and the only major work the bureau is doing is unwinding the regulations and rules it put into place during Trump’s first term and during the Biden administration.

While in the acting director role, Vought has signaled that he wishes to dismantle, or vastly diminish, the bureau.

The latest blow to the bureau came earlier this month, when the White House said it does not plan to withdraw any funds from the , which is where the bureau gets its funding, to fund the bureau past Dec. 31. The White House and the Justice Department used a legal interpretation of the law that created the bureau, the , that the Fed must be profitable in order to fund the CFPB’s operations. Several judges have rejected this argument when it was brought up by companies, but it’s never been the position of the government until this year that the CFPB requires the Fed to be profitable to have operating funds.

“‘s sending the Senate a new nominee to lead the CFPB looks like nothing more than a front for Russ Vought to stay on as Acting Director indefinitely as he tries to illegally close down the agency,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, in a statement.

The bureau was created after the 2008 financial crisis as part of the Dodd-Frank Act, a law passed to overhaul the financial system and require banks to hold more capital to avoid another financial crisis. The CFPB was created to be a independent advocate for consumers to help them avoid bad actors in the financial system.

Bogart Wealth announces new COO

McLean-based independent and , which manages $3.2 billion in assets, has appointed Allen Eickelberg as its .

Eickelberg, who started his new role on Monday, succeeds Michelle Dubay, who has moved into a chief administrative officer role overseeing compliance, human resources and finance.

As , Eickelberg will oversee operations across the firm and lead initiatives to improve efficiency, integrate technology and better client experience. He brings more than 15 years of leadership experience in financial services and is a certified financial planner.

“Allen has the ability to connect people, technology and process in ways that drive real results for clients and the firm,” Bogart Wealth President Jeff Fuhrman said in a statement. “His leadership will ensure our systems and teams remain aligned as we continue to deliver tailored financial planning for the clients we serve.”

According to his LinkedIn profile, Eickelberg was most recently managing director of operations for capital markets at Redbrick LMD, a real estate investment firm. Before that, he spent nearly 12 years in various executive roles at Spire Investment Partners. He has a bachelor’s degree in hospitality and tourism management from Virginia Tech.

Founded in 2016 by James Bogart, Bogart Wealth is a fee-only registered investment adviser. In addition to its headquarters, the firm has offices in Houston and The Woodlands, Texas. It provides integrated financial planning, investment management and tax strategy to corporate executives, professionals and families.

In the last five years, the firm has nearly tripled its assets under management to $3.2 billion. Bogart Wealth this year also deepened its leadership bench, adding Fuhrman as president in February, Torry Dell as director of business development in April and Domenico Conti as controller in August.

“Bogart Wealth has entered a new stage of organizational maturity,” founder and CEO James Bogart said in a statement. “Each of these appointments enhances our ability to deliver a seamless client experience while continuing to build a strong foundation for long-term success.”

Florida-based Shook Research named Bogart the eighth best wealth adviser in Virginia, and Forbes named it the 19th best RIA firm in the state this year.

US trade deficit drops 24% as tariffs cut imports

Summary

  • fell to $59.6B in August, down from $78.2B.
  • dropped 5.1% as Trump’s global took effect.
  • Companies had stocked up on foreign goods ahead of Aug. 7 tariffs.
  • Report was delayed more than seven weeks due to .

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit fell by nearly 24% in August as President ‘s sweeping global tariffs pushed imports lower.

In a report delayed for more than seven weeks by the shutdown, the said Wednesday that the the gap between what the United States buys from other countries and what it sells them fell to $59.6 billion in August, from $78.2 billion in July.

Imports of goods and services dropped 5% to $340.4 billion in August from July when U.S. companies were stocking up on foreign products before Trump finalized taxes on products from almost every country on earth. Those levies went into effect Aug. 7.

U.S. exports blipped up 0.1% in August to $280.8 billion.

Trump, charging that America’s persistent trade deficits mean that other countries have taken advantage of the U.S., has overturned decades of U.S. policy in favor of free trade, slapping double-digit tariffs on imports from most countries and targeting specific products, including steel, copper and autos, with their own levies.

Still, the U.S. trade deficit is up so far in 2025, coming in at $713.6 billion through August, up 25% from $571.1 billion in January-August 2024.

A drop in imports and the trade deficit is good for economic growth because foreign products are subtracted from the nation’s gross domestic product. GDP is the output of a nation’s goods and services.

“August’s smaller trade deficit will be a tailwind for third quarter real GDP, since it means that more U.S. expenditures were directed toward domestically-produced goods and services rather than foreign ones,” Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank, wrote in a commentary. “While this release is quite dated because of the government shutdown, it contributes to evidence that the economy was growing briskly in the third quarter.”

Tariffs, which Trump says will protect U.S. industries and lure factories to America, are paid by importers who typically attempt to pass along the higher cost to their customers. Economists say Trump’s tariffs are one reason U.S. inflation remains stubbornly above the ‘s 2% target.

After voters’ dissatisfaction with the high cost of living led to big Democratic gains in the Nov. 4 elections, the president relented and dropped tariffs last week on beef, coffee, tea, fruit juice, cocoa, spices, bananas, oranges, tomatoes and certain fertilizers, saying they “may, in some cases” have contributed to higher prices.

His tariffs are also facing a legal challenge that has gone to the Supreme Court. In a Nov. 5, hearing, the justices sounded skeptical that the president had the authority to bypass Congress and slap unlimited tariffs on most imports simply by declaring a national emergency.

RVA757 Connects strategy calls for more digital infrastructure along corridor

SUMMARY:

  • aims to make – corridor a digital infrastructure hub
  • The relocation aims to cut costs and support advanced tech with more flexible space
  • Panelists warned that without expanded energy, fiber and data center capacity, the region risks losing competitiveness in the -driven economy.

As , cloud expansion and data-intensive industries reshape the U.S. economy, leaders in Richmond and Hampton Roads hope to position the Interstate 64 corridor as a hub for digital infrastructure.

That was the centerpiece of RVA757 Connects’ 2035 Global Internet Hub Vision plan released Tuesday at the Richmond-Hampton Roads economic development nonprofit’s Convergence conference at .

The new plan builds on the nonprofit’s previously outlined ambition to become a global internet hub. RVA757 President and CEO John Martin says the changes reflect how quickly the landscape around , AI, and energy demands has evolved.

“Believe it or not, most people still believe that the global internet is held together by satellites,” said SubOptic Foundation President Erick Contag, a panelist at the event. “The reality is about 99% of the world is connected via these long-haul [subsea] digital infrastructure cables.”

Martin said Richmond and Hampton Roads are “stronger together” and offer complementary strengths. For example, Hampton Roads provides subsea cable access while the Richmond region offers land availability and data centers.

“It takes both regions to offer all these things that are in a global internet hub,” Martin said. “We couldn’t do it alone.”

The plan highlights five pillars the region must advance: connecting data through network rings and fiber routes; powering data with a diversified energy mix, including offshore wind and fusion technologies; securing data with the region’s strong cybersecurity workforce; transforming data through applied AI and research; and ensuring all residents benefit from expanded connectivity.

At a panel discussion at the event, executives from Dominion Energy, Virginia Natural Gas and Commonwealth Fusion Systems discussed the state’s rapidly evolving energy landscape. Moderator Adam Sledd, executive director of the Dominion Energy Innovation Center, noted that other markets are now looking to Virginia as a leader on “energy for AI.”

At the same time, panelists warned that meeting rising data center demand will require significant new power generation and transmission investments across multiple energy sources — from offshore wind and natural gas to nuclear and emerging technologies like fusion.

Panelists said data center developers are increasingly focused on how quickly they can get power to a site, a factor that can determine whether they build in a region at all.

“The top one now is speed-to-power,” said Rick Needham, chief commercialization officer at Commonwealth Fusion Systems, the Massachusetts-based company building a $2.5 billion commercial nuclear fusion energy plant in . “Don’t have it? They won’t come.”

Martin cautioned against narrow views of the data center industry, which has come under criticism by some elected officials and residents, particularly in Northern Virginia, who cite demands on water and power to keep data centers cool, in addition to potential energy rate hikes for residences.

“Everybody thinks data centers [mean] hyperscalers, huge energy hogs… and they don’t realize it’s all different flavors and sizes,” Martin told Virginia Business. As AI creates new real-time data demands, he argued, regions without local data processing capacity and strong network connections risk losing competitiveness.

Martin added that Northern Virginia’s maturing data center market, still the world’s largest, is creating opportunities elsewhere in the state. Loudoun County, known as Data Center Alley, has 199 data centers in operation, with 117 more in the pipeline. Prince William County has 44 data centers and 15 under development.

“Northern Virginia reached a tipping point of sorts, in terms of so many data centers being approved that they started to experience some pushback from different groups,” Martin said. “And the heat of that has picked up, and it’s caused data center developers to maybe move a little bit faster at looking at other locations.”

Stafford County, for instance, will be home to a $2 billion data center campus owned by Vantage Data Centers, announced this month, and Google is planning to build three data centers next to Chesterfield’s Meadowville Technology Park.

Martin stressed the urgency of investing in digital infrastructure, calling it a “line in the sand moment” to the event’s attendees.

“Today, we’re going to focus on our global internet hub strategy and really drill down deep into that, and make it our competitive advantage, make it our national, perhaps even international distinction, and make it our strategy to transform our economy, really our leapfrog strategy, to outperform, catch up and outperform peer regions and even the states in the southeast,” he said.

Over the next few months, RVA757 plans to work with stakeholders to turn the 2035 strategy into an actionable implementation plan, incorporating the feedback gathered at the conference.

Global sell-off drags US stocks lower again

Summary

  • fell 0.8% after an early 1.5% drop.
  • again led market declines amid AI valuation worries.
  • briefly dipped below $90,000.
  • Global markets sank as investors questioned high stock valuations and Fed rate cuts.

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. fell following another jarring day on Tuesday, as worries keep dogging Nvidia, bitcoin and other Wall Street stars that their prices shot too high.

After quickly sliding to a morning loss of 1.5%, the S&P 500 clawed back nearly all of it before sinking again. It finished with a fall of 0.8% and pulled further from its all-time high set late last month. The Industrial Average lost 498 points, or 1.1%, and the composite sank 1.2%.

Nvidia was again the heaviest weight on the market, and its drop of 2.8% brought its loss for the month so far to more than 10%. That’s a steep enough fall that Wall Street has a name for it: a correction.

What Nvidia does matters disproportionately to savers’ 401(k) accounts because its immense size means it’s the most influential stock on Wall Street. It single-handedly steers the direction of the S&P 500 some days, after fervent demand for its artificial-intelligence chips helped it briefly top $5 trillion in total value.

The U.S. stock market’s recent struggles are a sharp turnaround from its nearly relentless rally since April, when Wall Street last sold off after President Donald Trump shocked the world with stiff .

That rally was so strong that critics say it may have carried prices too high, too fast and left the market at risk of a sharp drop. They point in particular to stocks swept up in the AI mania, which have been surging at spectacular speeds for years.

Nvidia’s price more than doubled in four of the last five years, for example, while Palantir Technologies’ stock more than doubled in the first six and a half months of this year.

Many big investors still seem to expect stock prices to rise further, according to the latest monthly survey of global fund managers by Bank of America Global Research. But when asked what the No. 1 risk for the market is, one with a lower probability of happening but a chance of very big damage, 45% pointed to an AI bubble. That beat out potential trouble in the bond market, inflation and trade wars.

A record percentage of investors is also saying companies are “overinvesting,” according to the survey. The worry is that all the dollars pouring into AI chips and worldwide may not produce the kind of revolution that AI proponents have been predicting, or at least not as profitable a one.

Other high-flying areas of the market with their own evangelists have also been struggling lately. Bitcoin’s price briefly fell below $90,000 in the morning, down from nearly $125,000 last month. It later recovered some of its losses and climbed back toward $93,000.

also helped drag the market lower after falling 6%. It reported a weaker profit for the summer than analysts expected and cited a variety of reasons. Chief among them was a lack of storms, which would have driven customers to buy more home-improvement supplies. CEO Ted Decker also pointed to “consumer uncertainty and continued pressure in housing” for preventing an expected increase in demand.

Reporting stronger profits is one of the ways a company can make its stock price look less expensive, because stock prices tend to track with earnings over the long term. That’s raising the stakes for Wednesday’s profit report from Nvidia, which could either help halt its stock’s slide or worsen it.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, Cloudflare fell 2.8% after an earlier issue at the internet infrastructure provider caused global outages for ChatGPT and other services.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 55.09 points to 6,617.32. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 498.50 to 46,091.74, and the Nasdaq composite sank 275.23 to 22,432.85.

In the bond market, Treasury yields likewise oscillated through the day. The yield on the 10-year Treasury eventually eased to 4.11% from 4.13% late Monday.

Yields have been swinging amid doubts about whether the will cut its main interest rate at its next meeting in December, something that traders had earlier seen as very likely. What the Fed does is critical for the market because stock prices ran to records in part because of expectations for continued cuts to rates.

The Fed has cut rates twice already this year in hopes of shoring up a slowing job market. But lower interest rates can make inflation worse, and inflation has stubbornly remained above the Fed’s 2% target.

In stock markets abroad, indexes tumbled across Europe and Asia.

South Korea’s Kospi sank 3.3%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 3.2% and France’s CAC 40 fell 1.9% for some of the world’s larger drops.

Judge rules Meta is not a social media monopoly

Summary

  • Judge says does not hold a monopoly in social networking.
  • Ruling ends an challenge that threatened and spinoffs.
  • Decision comes after historic trial concluding in late May.
  • Follows major rulings calling Google a monopoly in search and advertising.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Meta has prevailed over an existential challenge to its business that could have forced the tech giant to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp after a judge ruled that the company does not hold a monopoly in social networking.

U.S. District Judge issued his ruling Tuesday after the historic antitrust trial wrapped up in late May. His decision follows two separate rulings that branded Google an illegal monopoly in both search and online advertising, dealing yet another regulatory blow to the tech industry that for years enjoyed nearly unbridled growth.

The Federal Trade Commission “continues to insist that Meta competes with the same old rivals it has for the last decade, that the company holds a monopoly among that small set, and that it maintained that monopoly through anticompetitive acquisitions,” Boasberg wrote in his ruling. “Whether or not Meta enjoyed monopoly power in the past, though, the agency must show that it continues to hold such power now. The Court’s verdict today determines that the FTC has not done so.”

Meta Platforms Inc., the FTC had argued, has maintained a monopoly by pursuing CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s strategy, “expressed in 2008: ‘It is better to buy than compete.’ True to that maxim, Facebook has systematically tracked potential rivals and acquired companies that it viewed as serious competitive threats.”

During his April testimony, Zuckerberg pushed back against the FTC’s contention that Facebook bought Instagram to neutralize a threat. In his line of questioning, FTC attorney Daniel Matheson repeatedly brought up emails — many of them more than a decade old — written by Zuckerberg and his associates before and after the acquisition of Instagram.

While acknowledging the documents, Zuckerberg has often sought to downplay the contents, saying he wrote them in the early stages of considering the acquisition and that what he wrote at the time didn’t capture the full scope of his interest in the company. But the case was not about the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp more than a decade ago, which the FTC approved at the time, but about whether Meta holds a monopoly now. The FTC, Boasberg wrote in the ruling, could only win if it proved “current or imminent legal violation.”

The FTC’s complaint said Facebook also enacted policies designed to make it difficult for smaller rivals to enter the market and “neutralize perceived competitive threats,” just as the world shifted its attention to mobile devices from desktop computers.

Meta said Tuesday’s decision “recognizes that Meta faces fierce competition.”

“Our products are beneficial for people and businesses and exemplify American innovation and economic growth. We look forward to continuing to partner with the Administration and to invest in America,” the Menlo Park, California-based company said in a statement.

The landscape has changed so much since the FTC filed its lawsuit in 2020, Boasberg wrote, that each time the court examined Meta’s apps and competition, they changed. Two opinions to dismiss the case — filed in 2021 and 2022 — didn’t even mention popular social video platform TikTok. Today, it “holds center stage as Meta’s fiercest rival.”

Quoting the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, “that no man can ever step into the same river twice,” Boasberg said the same is true for the online world of social media as well.

“The landscape that existed only five years ago when the Federal Trade Commission brought this antitrust suit has changed markedly. While it once might have made sense to partition apps into separate markets of social networking and social media, that wall has since broken down,” he wrote.

Emarketer analyst Minda Smiley said Meta’s win “is not necessarily surprising considering the lengths it’s gone to in recent years to keep up with TikTok.”

“But from a regulatory standpoint, Meta is far from out of the woods: next year, major social networks will face landmark trials in the US regarding children’s mental health,” she added. “Still, today’s win is surely a boost for the company as it battles criticism and questions over how its massive spending will ultimately benefit Meta in the long run.”

Facebook bought Instagram — then a scrappy photo-sharing app with no ads and a small cult following — in 2012. The $1 billion cash and stock purchase price was eye-popping at the time, though the deal’s value fell to $750 million after Facebook’s stock price dipped following its initial public offering in May 2012.

Instagram was the first company Facebook bought and kept running as a separate app. Up until then, Facebook was known for smaller “acqui-hires” — a type of popular Silicon Valley deal in which a company purchases a startup as a way to hire its talented workers, then shuts the acquired company down. Two years later, it did it again with the messaging app WhatsApp, which it purchased for $22 billion.

WhatsApp and Instagram helped Facebook move its business from desktop computers to mobile devices, and to remain popular with younger generations as rivals like Snapchat (which it also tried, but failed, to buy) and TikTok emerged. However, the FTC has a narrow definition of Meta’s competitive market, excluding companies like TikTok, YouTube and Apple’s messaging service from being considered rivals to Instagram and WhatsApp.